Domain Name

How to choose a domain name for your website

1) Always use “.com.”If yours is a serious business site in America, avoid using domains ending in “biz” or “info” or any one of the score of new top level domains. Your business will have little credibility if you do so. You can consider registering a “.net” domain, but since most people are familiar with “.com,” it is better to stick to convention. “org” for organization.

2) Don’t make your primary domain too long.Even though 67 character domains are a reality, exactly how many of your users will want to type a domain name like “buymyterrificpastasauce.com”?

3) Avoid using hyphens in your domain.Domains containing hyphens are difficult to remember, spell and pronounce. I have a client who registered “Homes-AtoZ.com,” which I advised against. I told them they would get tired of telling people about the dash.

However, they do seem to be doing okay with it anyway. If you register a domain containing hyphens, make sure that you also register the corresponding domain without the hyphens. Once you do that, you can simply redirect visitors from the domain without the hyphens to the domain with the hyphens.

4) Try to register a domain which contains a popular keyword applicable for your industry. This will help your customers remember your domain name better. Thus, if the domain name contains a keyword, you will be able to include the keyword in the title which will improve your ranking.

5) Don’t register a domain containing the digit “0” in it, unless it is going to be part of a recognizable word (like 1000 or 2000).This is because the digit “0” is often confused with the vowel “O.” If you feel that you must register a domain with the digit “0,” makesure that you also register the corresponding domain containing the vowel “O.”

6) Try to avoid using domains that contain ‘2’ for “to,” ‘4’ for ‘for,’ ‘u’ for ‘you.’ Your customers will easily get confused. However, if you must register such a domain, register the expanded form of the domain as well, i.e. if you are registering “FirstAidCPR4U.com,” also register “FirstAidCPRForYou.com.”